


But I Still Act Surprised

by princejoopie



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dave is a softie, Drug Use, Emotional Manipulation, Implied Sexual Content, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, M/M, Modern AU, Songfic, sex worker Klaus Hargreeves, we live by the klave we die by the klave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:08:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24593566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princejoopie/pseuds/princejoopie
Summary: Dave woke up in an empty bed, unrested and hungover. The guy he'd taken home with him was nowhere to be found.
Relationships: Dave/Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 9
Kudos: 169





	But I Still Act Surprised

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something to hold y'all over between chapters of The Unlucky Ones (which will continue on schedule on Friday). It's pretty different from my usual writing style, but I've wanted to do something with this song and a modern klave AU for the longest time. The song is "All Of The Drugs" by The Brobecks and I highly recommend checking it out either before or after you read. (It's only 2 minutes long, if that makes a difference.)

Dave woke up alone.

_ All of the drugs she takes at night _

He woke up in an empty bed, unrested and hungover. The guy he'd taken home with him was nowhere to be found. Not in the bedroom, nor- as Dave discovered after heaving himself out of bed- was he in the bathroom or the living room.

One thing that  _ was _ in the living room, however, was Dave's jacket on the floor. He could've sworn he'd slung it over the back of the couch as the pair stumbled to the bedroom in their passionate frenzy, but then again, he could've been mistaken.

What he didn't remember was his wallet being removed from the pocket, nor did he remember it being empty. He thought sure he'd had fifty bucks in cash. But he  _ had _ been more than a little drunk. So who knows.

_ Keep her awake, give me a fright _

Dave met the stranger again a week later, at a different bar. He turned a ghostly white when they made eye contact. So maybe Dave  _ hadn't _ imagined his wallet seeming out of place. It wasn't a big deal, though. The guy probably needed the money anyway.

And once he realized Dave wasn't mad, he was all over him again, flirting and sweet-talking until Dave couldn't resist. They slept together again that night, and Dave's wallet was empty again in the morning.

He still wasn't mad, though.

_ I don’t know what goes through her mind _

The next time they met up, Dave learned his name, and what he did for a living. Klaus. Sex worker. He found out the latter when Klaus was straddling him and saying, "You know, I usually charge for this stuff, but you're hot enough that I don't even care."

The realization came like a punch to the gut, but Dave wasn't sure why he was so surprised. After that he just found himself wondering where all the money went.

Until the early hours of the morning, that is, when Dave was awoken by Klaus getting out of bed, and there was just enough sunlight to see him pulling a baggie out of his coat and throwing a few pills into his mouth.

_ When she takes drugs. _

By the fourth time they hooked up, Dave had started hiding his extra cash in his sock drawer before he left for the night.

The idea of paying for a prostitute didn't sit right with him, and he wasn't getting much of a discount if Klaus just kept stealing his money every time.

Klaus claimed he didn't take it- claimed he didn't  _ need _ it, but Dave saw right through him. He didn't even know why Klaus bothered trying to hide it.

_ All of the lies she tells herself _

Dave's friends started to question him as time went on. When sleeping with a prostitute every couple of weeks slowly turned into every couple of days, they grew concerned.

Dave said it wasn't a big deal, that it was okay because he knew what Klaus was doing.

His friends all said that knowing you're being taken advantage of still doesn't make it okay, but Dave didn't care. Dave liked Klaus and didn't mind having him around.

_ Won’t be believed by anybody else _

And "having him around" quickly became Dave's reality on most days.

Nearly every night Klaus would come around to his apartment, foregoing the bar by this point, and they'd hook up, and Klaus would be gone in the morning.

Dave was content, though. He wasn't sure what it was about Klaus that made him happy, but there was definitely something, because he wasn't eager to kick Klaus out anytime soon.

_ And I can’t buy just what she sells _

Klaus still insisted he wasn't homeless, though. He said he had his own place and that he'd spend most days there.

Dave found that hard to believe, though. He couldn't see why Klaus would spend every night in his bed if he had one of his own to go back to.

He'd occasionally spot Klaus on the streets during the day too, and it made Dave even more skeptical. Why would someone sell their body to spend money on an apartment that they were never in?

_ When she tells lies. _

Dave would wake up early or fall asleep late sometimes, and he'd catch Klaus crawling over to his discarded coat and pulling his bag of pills out of the pocket.

He'd shudder and throw a few back and swallow them dry, and Dave always wondered what forces tortured Klaus enough to drive him to his addictions.

It only endeared him to Dave more.

_ And she takes her pills _

Dave brought it up to him one day. He asked what the pills were for. Klaus asked, "What pills?" and Dave just glared. He knew that Klaus knew that he knew.

Klaus just dodged the question, though, kissing his neck and mumbling, "Come on, Davey, just enjoy me. Don't think about me too much, it'll only depress you."

Dave only ever thought about him more after that.

_ And she tells her lies _

One night Klaus came over covered in bruises. Dave asked what happened and rushed to sit him down and fetch an ice pack for him.

Klaus said it was nothing, that he got into a scuffle with another customer. Dave's heart sank at that.  _ Another _ customer, as if that's all Dave was to him. It probably was, he realized.

After tending to his wounds, Klaus tried to climb into Dave's lap and kiss him, mumbling, "Come on, let's just get this over with," and it made Dave's heart flip in a million different directions.

_ And she breaks my heart and breaks her word _

Dave gently pushed Klaus off and told him that they didn't have to have sex. Klaus insisted, saying he didn't want to sleep on the street.

Dave could almost feel himself start to cry. He told Klaus that he could still stay, that they didn't have to hook up, Klaus could just share his bed and be comfortable. Klaus looked at him like he'd grown a second head, and it only broke Dave's heart more.

After that, Klaus started staying almost every night, but he would still be gone in the morning, and Dave wasn't sure why that always stung so much.

_ But I still act sur- surprised. _

Klaus was never one to trust a stranger. Or a friend. Or  _ anyone _ for that matter. Too many bad experiences in that realm. But he knew a naive and gullible individual when he saw them, and Dave was exactly that.

It didn't take long before he was staying with Dave every night. It was a perfect arrangement- he could get some work done during the day, get his fix, and finish the night with some actually good sex and a warm bed.

Klaus had no idea how he got so lucky, but he wasn't about to question it.

_ Every kiss she gives away _

Another thing he got out of the arrangement was money, whenever Dave left his wallet lying around. It was a quick buck, and Klaus rationalized it by telling himself that he normally charged for sex anyway. It was like taking his payment after the fact.

He almost felt guilty at times, though, since he told Dave they had sex because he wanted to, and then he'd just go behind his back and steal Dave's money anyway. Keyword being  _ almost, _ though.

But it was okay, because Dave wasn't an idiot. Dave knew what Klaus was doing to him, and he wasn't trying to stop him, so that made it okay. Right?

_ Might be a good time but you know _

Klaus wasn't about to overthink it, though. He had a nice warm bed every night of the week- a luxury he hadn't known in years, save for rehab. Though he could hardly call those beds warm.

He was used to sleeping on the streets, curled up in an alley somewhere praying no pervs would find him and take advantage of his solitude.

Or he'd rent the cheapest motel room he could find and sleep between itchy sheets under the sound of people having sex on the floor above him.

_ The sad thing is the boys all say _

On a rare occasion, a client would let him spend the night, but the person would always want him gone by morning, which was easy to achieve since his nightmares consistently woke him up just before sunrise.

But with Dave it was different. Dave never attached conditions to Klaus's presence. Dave let him stay without worry, and Klaus always left without bruises.

He still always left before sunrise, though. He wouldn't want to be in someone's way, let alone someone as kind as Dave.

_ She’s something of a slut. _

Over the following weeks, Klaus came to realize that the feelings of guilt were growing. He just took and took from Dave, without Dave ever once complaining or pushing him away.

Normally he'd be glad to take advantage of such a situation, but for some reason, he found himself just feeling bad.

Every time he'd pull the last few dollar bills out of Dave's sock drawer, every time he caught Dave's somber glance as he threw back a few more pills- it felt like a knife in the heart.

_ And she takes her pills _

But Klaus persisted. He tried to shake himself out of it, telling himself that Dave was an idiot for letting him do this, that it was Dave's fault-  _ not _ his- for letting him get away with it for this long.

So he tried his best to remain aloof. He'd wake up in a cold sweat before dawn, as always, and throw on his clothes and flee the scene before Dave was any the wiser.

Even after Dave found out, though, he'd always let Klaus back in with open arms. Klaus didn't understand it, and it terrified him.

_ And she tells her lies _

What really threw him for a loop, though, was the first time Dave let him stay without having sex. Granted, Klaus had never  _ asked _ before, but he didn't need to. He'd just assumed that that was the only thing keeping him there, and without it, Dave would throw him back out.

But Dave didn't. And that one time turned into two, and then three, and then more. Whenever Klaus had a particularly bad day or rough client, Dave would fix him up and let him stay with no questions asked.

But he still always left in the morning. He didn't want to overstay his welcome and risk everything he'd been building up for months.

_ And she breaks my heart and breaks her word _

Klaus awoke one morning, in Dave's bed, as usual. But he was okay. He wasn't sweating, his heart wasn't racing- he hadn't had a nightmare for the first time in as long as he could remember.

He turned and looked at Dave- kind, caring Dave- examining the way his sleeping face glowed in the orange of the sunrise. Klaus didn't move. Didn't get up. Didn't leave.

He just lay quietly, staring at Dave, and he realized that it wasn't guilt he'd been feeling. It was love.

_ But I still act surprised. _

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed. Check out that song if you didn't already. And as always, feedback is appreciated. <3


End file.
